‘I believe that Kilcruit could be one out of the ordinary’ - Tony Mullins has full faith in Champion Bumper hope

The Champions Bumper will be the first time out for Kilcruit without Patrick Mullins on board

Michael Verney

March 17 2021 10:31 AM

TONY MULLINS is never one to sit on the fence and he had little hesitation in nominating Kilcruit as one to watch at a Cheltenham Preview Night this time last year despite the fact that the son of Stowaway hadn't even made his racecourse debut yet.

Mullins felt he had something special on his hands and while there were some fingers burned when Kilcruit was turned over on his debut in a Clonmel bumper a week after the Festival, the Kilkenny trainer's faith never dimmed.

Kilcruit would subsequently switch hands with his older brother Willie taking over training duties and he made no mistake at Navan last December before delivering a jaw-dropping display to land the Grade Two Goffs Future Stars Bumper at last month's Dublin Racing Festival.

The exciting six-year-old looked like he had only joined a star-studded field in the home straight such was the ease with which he travelled into the lead before coming clear by 12 lengths to confirm Mullins' glowing praise, without coming off the bridle.

"He showed that to us here at home a year and a half ago, he probably just wasn't strong enough at that stage to go right through with it and now with a year behind him, he's shown what I believed I saw when he was in his immature stage. He has shown us that all the time," Mullins said.

Rarely has there been a horse more associated with one family than Kilcruit, which is named after the town land which his breeder Maureen Mullins grew up in before becoming the matriarch of one of racing's greatest dynasties.

The Mullins name is dripping all over him with Maureen's son Tony nurturing him in his early years before he moved to his brother Willie while the trainer's son Patrick has been the man aboard for his three career starts.

This will be the first time that Patrick will not be in tow as the prolific rider is stuck back at Closutton due to UK government regulations denying amateur jockeys the chance to partake in competition until later this month with Paul Townend taking over in the plate.

The family links with Kilcruit go even deeper that it appears, as Tony explained. "My mother bred the horse, she bred the mother, she bred the grand mother, she bred the great grand mother and she bred the great great grandmother.

"I rode my first hurdle winner on the great grandmother on my first ride over hurdles 40 years ago. So we have that family a long, long time and Kilcruit was here with me from when he was a foal.

"I reared him for my mother and I believe he is a champion. We probably won't see him that often because he's a very light-framed horse but I think when he matures, he's going to be a very, very good horse."

Mullins is never afraid to be bullish when it is warranted and he can "guarantee you that wasn't a fluke" with the best yet to come from Kilcruit ahead of today's assignment in the Champion Bumper.

"Oh he can back it up (the Leopardstown romp), he can back it up. He is a high-class horse. This is a very good bumper now, Willie now trains Sir Gerhard as well so I don't know what's going to happen there. I have respect for Sir Gerhard but I believe that Kilcruit could be one out of the ordinary."